Winter Bees
It’s been a warm fall. Most days my bees are out foraging if the conditions are right: about 45 degrees (7 degrees C) and sunny.
Until our first frost, my dear neighbors had many late autumn plants that attracted honey bees: pineapple sage, tea flowers (pictured), and asters. I spent my afternoon walks looking following the bees to their favorite fall flowers.
As the weather gets colder, bees stay inside the hive and form a cluster around their queen. The vibrate their bodies to generate heat, which can hit a high of 90-100 degrees (32-37.7 C).
Winter bees, however, are distinctively different from their summer sisters. In September and October, the queen will begin to lay eggs for winter bees—they are obviously fatter than summer bees. They also live an average of four to six months. Summer bees rarely last more than five weeks.
My work as a beekeeper is greatly reduced now that colder weather is here. On warm days I will take a quick look inside to have to make sure the bees have enough honey, and I’ve already added winter quilt boards1 to absorb the moisture in the hive. Condensation is a byproduct of the bees’ heat production. I’ve also pre-stocked the hives with sugar cakes in the event they run low on honey.
On warm sunny days, my bees tend to congregate in a planter box on my front porch. I have no idea what draws them. The soils is damp, so perhaps it’s the water or minerals. I grab my jacket and sit next to the planter and watch the bees fly out and back. I know that the bees today are not the bees I started with in the spring, but there is nothing more satisfying hearing the buzz of honey bees at work.
Quilt boards are frames lined with burlap and stuffed with cedar shavings to absorb moisture.